Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a radiation emitter component including a semiconductor laser chip having a semiconductor substrate, an active laser layer constructed on the semiconductor substrate and having a quantum well structure, and at least one first and one second contact layer each connected to the active laser layer in an electrically conducting manner. The invention relates in particular to an infrared emitter component.
In the prior art, conventional light-emitting diodes on one hand, and GaAs-infrared light-emitting diodes, for example, on the other hand, are known as optoelectronic luminescence components. Due to their limited optical properties, the mass-produced conventional light-emitting diodes cannot as a rule be used where higher power, shorter switching times, and low wavelength band widths are required. In fact, an attempt has been made to improve such infrared light-emitting diodes, for example by adding GaAs-GaAlAs material with so-called double heterotransitions in order to increase power and data rates and to improve them by adding a transparent substrate to increase power further. However, despite those measures, the use of that kind of light-emitting diode particularly in the computer and computer peripheral field has only been possible to a greatly limited degree up till now. That application field has previously been limited almost exclusively to optoelectronic laser components. Due to a high degree of mechanical sensitivity of semiconductor laser chips, until now they have been mounted in the usual way in the known unencapsulated metal housings, e.g. TO-18 housings or SMD housings (Surface-Mounted Device housings). An example of a metal housing of that kind is shown in German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 37 32 075 A1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,855.
Semiconductor laser chips with a semiconductor substrate and an active laser layer that is constructed on the semiconductor substrate and has a quantum well structure are known, for example, from the following publications:
H. Lang et al.: GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Well Laser for High-Speed Applications, IEE PROCEEDINGS J. OPTOELECTRONICS, Vol. 138, No. 2, Apr. 1, 1991, pp. 117-121;
C. A. Wang et al.: High Power, High Temperature InGaAs-AlGaAs Strained-Layer Quantum-Well Diode Lasers, Electronics Letters, Vol. 30, No. 8, Apr. 14, 1994, pp. 646-648;
W. T, Tsang et al.: Low-Threshold InGaAs Strained-Layer Quantum Well Lasers (.lambda.=0.98 .mu.m) with GalnP Cladding Layers Prepared by Chemical Beam Epitaxy, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 61, No. 7, Aug. 17, 1992, pp. 755-757;
D. P. Bour et al.: Tensile-Strained AlGaAsP- and InGaAsP-(AlGa).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P Quantum Well Laser Diodes for TM-Mode Emission in the Wavelength Range 650&lt;.lambda.&lt;850 nm, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 6, No. 11, November, 1994, pp. 1283-1285;
Patent Abstracts of Japan, Vol. 002, No. 027 (E-016), Feb. 21, 1978, JP-A-52 149 081;
F. Bugge et al.: Effect of Growth Interruption on Performance of AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs Quantum Well Lasers, Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 145, 1994, pp. 907-910; and
S. Karakida et al.: Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of High-Quality and Highly Uniform Strained InGaAs Quantum Wells in a High-Speed Rotating-Disk Reactor, Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 145, 1994, pp. 662-667.